Fear (1996)

Directed by James Foley. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, William Petersen, Amy Brenneman, Alyssa Milano, Todd Caldecott, Christopher Gray, Tracy Fraim. [R]

Petersen’s teenage daughter begins dating a troubled young man with a penchant for obsession and violence; daddy no likey. Plot follows the predictably overbaked beats, coasting only on director Foley’s sure-handed direction of the empty-headed particulars, wrapping up in a heedless climax that’s too silly to be exciting and not over-the-top enough to qualify as outrageous schlock. Wahlberg’s smoldering psycho has no depth or personality; the actor (in his first leading role) exudes menace okay but earns only snickers and eyerolls when he feigns sincerity or charm—we had to wait until the following year’s Boogie Nights to discover he had legitimate acting chops. Watchable primarily for the unintentional howlers; if Lifetime and MTV ever joined forces to produce a teen stalker/slasher flick, this is what they’d give us.

42/100